Recent Posts

Coprosma ‘Tequila Sunrise’ I have known gardeners who were obsessed with variegated plants. Their gardens were devoted exclusively to these schizophrenic beauties. Variegated refers to plants with leaves possessing more than one color. ...

If you want to enjoy the pleasure of viewing a large variety of lesser known plants arranged in distinctive garden designs, without having to visit a botanical garden, I suggest you take a walk up and down the streets of Santa Monica, especially in t...
Santa Monica Sightings

I have a persimmon tree purchased 9 years ago. In the past 3 years, the fruit hasn’t grown larger than a grape, changing color but not expanding in size. The tree receives sun all day long. Will I ever again see any full-size fruit from this ...

A gleaming oak tree from the Southeast and an iconic weed from Russia are thriving in Balboa Park. The park entrance is located on the east side of Balboa Boulevard, between Burbank and Victory Boulevards, in Van Nuys. The tree in question is southe...

About The Author

Welcome to The Smarter Gardener. I'm Joshua Siskin and I've been writing about plants and trees for the Los Angeles Daily News for over 20 years. If you have any questions or comments, please send them along. I have published more than 1,000 articles on plants and I am currently in the process of loading them onto this site. My goal is to make it possible for you to learn about any of the plants in your garden by doing a search of this site.